The DLP Dilemma...

Recently, a new deal between film studios and exhibitors was announced to convert thousands of American screens to digital technology.

Have you ever been to a digital cinema before? They are becoming increasingly common. Most of them have the obnoxious "Believe Your Eyes" promo from Dolby that shows a traditional film countdown (along with rickety film-projector sound effects) which explodes in a glorious shower of fireworks to be replaced by a shimmering digital countdown and eardrum-pulverizing underwater sound effects blasting through every speaker in the theater.

All of which would be fine if the digital cinema technology actually offered an improvement over traditional projected 35mm film.

I'm getting into sticky territory here... The truth is, digital cinema technology will admittedly improve the quality of viewing at most mall-type multiplexes where the projectionist is usually 16 years old (if you're lucky). There is a multiplex near my house (I won't name the chain, but it starts with "C" and ends in "Armike") that I refused to visit for many years. The projectionists there rarely (if ever) framed the movies correctly and I never once in a whole year saw a movie projected in focus. They recently made a switch to DLP, and I gotta admit (begrudgingly) it's an improvement. Still, well-projected 35mm is still vastly superior. Something about the DLP picture seems overly saturated and unnatural to me; the highlights don't seem to hold any detail.

This new plan to switch even more screens to digital has me worried. Companies like Kodak and Fuji make a great deal of income from their release prints for studios. If that income were to suddenly vanish, will they be able to continue provided negative camera stock to filmmakers? Will student film packages (one of the only remaining reasons young filmmakers ever get a chance to shoot on film) suddenly vanish overnight?

I am not convinced that having digital cinemas will help indie filmmakers get their work wider recognition. The small art house cinemas will not be able to afford to make the switch to these expensive new projectors, and as a result indie filmmakers will still have a lot more luck if their pictures finish on film.

I started this blog to talk about film as a capture medium, but I believe the DLP issue is very relevant. Its all interrelated...

-Dave Boyle